Classic Citrus Attack

Ah, citrus fragrances...I am in mood for expanding my citrus/fresh fragrance collection, and the most recent addition to my wardrobe has been Chanel pour monsieur (vintage) which I find to be a simple, understated yet addictive composition of citrus, moss and vetiver.

I tried some of these a while ago, but have "forgotten" what they smell like. Its good that they are reasonably priced on the 'net, and I will probably opt for a large blind buy order in this case (3-4 fragrances). Having said that, I would prefer to have a minimum of similar fragrances in the blind buy order so I turn to fellow basenoters for recommendations from the aforementioned list.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

PMC is really creamy, like french vanilla icecream, and has sweet spices like nutmeg, dries down to a vanillin note, but remarkably on me at least the citrus hangs around the whole time, it just moves to the background as it dries down. Also has a powdery feel.

HR EDC is a bit kinkier and dirtier, the vanilla is there from the beginning, along with lemon, and is even a bit more powdery than PMC, thanks to the Guerlinade note.

Armani is probably the cleanest, with a lovely woody (sandalwood?) drydown. It's elegant, but sharper, not as smooth.

Eau Sauvage is the freshest on the topnotes, but not necessarily the cleanest, on some the herbal notes can comes out strong, on me I like to wear it to bed.

The creamy two have the best longevity on me.

I would also regard YSL pour Homme as a herbal citrus, like ES, it can get very herbal and a bit like BO.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Pour Monsieur's basically a straight chypre. Big, primo oakmoss in the vintage. Smells incredible. No surprise they stopped making it.

PM Concentree and Habit Rouge are orientals so you might not want those in your climate this time of year.

Eau de Rochas Homme's as fine a citrus chypre as there is. Zesty, uplifting with a modified woody/oakmoss drydown. For reference, it's more resolutely masculine than Eau Sauvage (more floral) which everyone should own (vintage packaging). Eau Sauvage gives me much better longevity than most citruses. It's an outstanding fragrance in all respects. Even has a slightly animalic base. I stockpiled a few bottles of both Eau Sauvage and EdRH. Armani Eau Pour Homme is rich, virile, mossy, harder notes (hard as in not soft), prominent coriander, not all that interesting but it smells damn good. I used to wear it in massive quantities when I lived in the desert. I remember YSL Homme wearing pretty retro - herbal, no sweetness, which worked well in the Texas heat.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

That's a good group that you've chosen there. I'm not very good at comparing scents--they always smell so different from each other. I would say the standout in the group is Eau de Rochas in that it presents the most pristine version of citrus of all of them. It is light, sharp, clean, incredibly pure. To my nose the greens in EdR that the most subordinate roll of all the scents you list. it's a beauty.

The Armani Eau is my favorite Armani. The Eau in the name is a misnomer IMO. It is a complete, fully developing traditional scent with an excellent citrus opening as far as I'm concerned.

Eau Sauvage is my favorite, but that is probably because of nostalgia--I've been wearing it off and on since 1966 and I find it's still one I love to reach for. It is citrus / green and the fantastic citrus opening is gone is gone in a flash. it settles down to an extremely nice wood (vetiver, patchouli, sandal) skin scent that lasts 3-6 hours on my skin. Nothing dramatic but just plain elegant. In the old days I believe there was a little more to it than the present version, but I could be wrong about that and I still like it.

Monsieur de Givenchy is a beautiful scent--I've tested it several times over the years and always like it but I always like Eau Sauvage better. I don't have any pratical experience wearing it.

YSL might be the least refined of the ones you've cited. It's pretty 80s but I like it especially for its green. I find it very wearable with great longevity, but then I wear it for the green.

I dislike Habit Rouge--on my skin it is a vanilla cluster bomb.

I'm not sure which of the Signoricci's are which, but I believe that the 65 version is very strong on the greens in the opening. Another one that I almost do not consider a citrus.

I've no experience with the concentree version of PM, but the regular version is a beautiful citrus / mix scent.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

I know all of these well, except the Signoricci, of which I only had the old version (former S-2). S-1 seems to be gone for good, and was definitely not a citrus but a rather herbal-fresh fragrance. As pluran has indicated, Habit Rouge is (a woody) oriental. It really stands a little apart from the rest.
Chanel PMC is excellent, but I have a slight preference for the older Chanel (sans C) even though it isn't lasting as well. I notice that Osmoz has classified it as an oriental too.YSL p Homme is the only real power citrus among the lot (1971). It gives you lemon all day, but that would of course not be possible without those herbs and other ingredients (of which the BN pyramid shows too few). ED Rochas: the masculine version (1993, youngest of the lot) is even better than the earlier feminine EDR (70) I believe - hesperidé perfection! And M Givenchy is the most uplifting one for me, fresh splendour without being lemony.
If you're going back to the high tide of citrussy colognes which last, you may want to include Moustache for sampling. But then, it isn't really possible to recommend anything based solely on ones own taste. If I was at that starting point, I would probably also include the 'best of'' English limes, or give my Armani for it.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Thanks for all the info so far!

As Narcus mentioned, there are two version of Eau De Rochas (1970 and 1993). Isn't the 1970s version the one which is getting all the laurels here ? And there seems to be a pour femme/pour homme confusion with this one too.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Originally Posted by zztopp

Thanks for all the info so far!

As Narcus mentioned, there are two version of Eau De Rochas (1970 and 1993). Isn't the 1970s version the one which is getting all the laurels here ? And there seems to be a pour femme/pour homme confusion with this one too.

My laurals were definitely for the 1993 Eau de Rochas. There should be no confusion between the masculine and feminine versions. The masculine is in the rectangular rock-glass bottle with a grey plastic cap and with "pour homme" clearly labeled, and the feminine is in a round bottle with a crystalline top.

Last edited by foetidus; 2nd June 2007 at 11:44 PM.
Reason: added thoughts

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Foetidus, with his usual and admirable attention to detail, is absolutely correct. There's no 1970s male version. Eau de Rochas was released in 1970 as a women's fragrance and was modeled on the good old-fashioned eau fraîche concept but with the innovation of diffusive jasmine heart note and a solid chypre base inspired by Eau Sauvage. Eau de Rochas Pour Homme was released in 1993 as, obviously, a men's fragrance.

The confusion occurs as it does every now and then on the Male Fragrance Discussion board because of a certain laziness in describing fragrances by their correct names. If one sees Eau de Rochas and Eau de Rochas Pour Homme side by side, one should immediately think women's and men's versions, but since there is a tendency not to place Pour Homme before many fragrance names, there is also the concommitant tendency to miss a basic distinction that is fundamental to modern perfumery. This confusion has occurred numerous time with Opium and Opium Pour Homme.

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

Originally Posted by castorpollux

So what did you get from your list? or what are you going to get?

So far, Eau de Rochas pour homme, Eau Sauvage, Signoricci and M. d. Givenchy are the ones which will probably make my list. I might have smelled some or all of these before in my non-Basenotes life, and I am sure like what happened with Kouros, Polo Green, and Van Cleef (to mention a few) my comatose scent memory will surely be awakened by some of these.

Just to throw another one into the mix...I have been reading good things about Pierre Bourdon's little known work for Gianfranco Ferre: Bergamotto Marino. Its not listed at Basenotes, but Marlen/Scenteur7 favorably reviewed it at http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/b...6/1824738.html . It looks like Ebay is the only place to find this supposed gem. Any comments on this one ?

Re: Classic Citrus Attack

zz,

Eau de Rochas Pour Homme, Aramani Eau Pour Homme, and Eau Sauvage are extraordinarily good citrus scents. I have worn them over many summers. I would also recommend the truest of true citrus fragrances in many ways, Miller Harris Citron Citron (EDT or EDP).

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Partly because of this thread, I went out and bought Eau De Rochas pour Homme today, and all I can say is that it is very nice. There's a lemon/lime thing going on on top, which dries down very elegant and nicely. The feel of the fragrance seems to remind me of Armani PH.

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Scentemental, thanks for the list and clearing up the E.d.Rochas confusion. Gimpy, glad this dicussion could (positively) influence your blind buy decision - I will be taking the plunge after the weekend too!

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Not that it matters but my bottles are all named Eau de Rochas Homme w/o the Pour.

Seems this is the original

Very interesting pluran. You know I just noticed this for the first time. I just checked my numerous back up bottles, and I have both the new packaging and the old packaging.

The old packaging is the image immediately above as you correctly note. Then new packaging does indeed have the word Pour missing and is a little more modernized with silver lettering (as is the bottle) instead of black lettering.

I have been using both for years now it seems without realizing; although, come to think of it, I had noticed the bottles and boxes where slightly modernized. I did not notice, however, that they had dropped the "Pour". There appears to be no reformulation.

Thanks for pointing this out.

scentemental

P.S. "Oh", he says pointing out the obvious, "the old bottles a translucent plastic top".

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Yes, indeed the Homme is rather a "Minotaurish" font style. Excellent observation and description.

Hell of a flacon. Hell of a fragrance. By far my top citrus, along with Miller Harris Citron Citron, and one of my top five fragrances of the many I've tried over a lifetime. That's how much I like this fragrance and how much I admire it.

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I have always particularly liked citrus scents and have come to realise how hard they are to make well. For instance, I'm really disappointed when they become sweet, powdery, or leathery. I much prefer when they preserve that original citrus blast I keep coming back to Monsieur Balmain and P de Nicolai's Balle de Match--both really refreshing. I also really like Frederic Malle's Gigarrade Concentree which has a kind of dirty, sexy drydown while remaining citrusy. I have also recently discovered Agrumi Amari di Sicilia by Bois 1921--also very fresh and elegant.